Month: January 2009

What do I do when I can’t think of a particular word while writing, asked the curious Jaxon?

My dogs are actually quite, what’s the word?, sagacious, when called upon to aid in my search for the proper bon mot. I do use the Thesaurus frequently, if not religiously, and…Oh, what is the word I’m looking for?…Ah, yes, habitually.

But when all else fails, I get up from the computer and wander around, because the farther away I am from the computer, the better the chances are that the most delicious and obscure word will pop into my cranium and I won’t have a pencil or piece of paper to write it on, and while I am searching for a stupid scrap of anything to use, the word will completelty… Oh, I can’t think of the right word to use…..Let me ask one of the dogs.

What do you do when you can’t think of that word you need for your story, ariticle, review or blog?

Do your fingers remain poised over the keys (perhaps tapping them lightly) while your brain frantically searches all its memory files? Do you write the “wrong” word and continue with the piece, hoping to come back and change it when inspiration hits? Do you consult a thesaurus (be it on Word or your bookshelf)? Do you start with “A” and go through the alphabet saying words that “sorta” match the one you need? Do you describe the meaning of the word to a nearby spouse, kid, friend (your dog, cat) in hopes that they’ll fill in that blank? Do you think, “Oh, what the heck!” put in any old word and quit worrying about it?

What works best for you? PLEASE share!!

I’ve done them all, but I’ve found what really works is… is… now what was that word?